GlossyBox! ..

Yesterday morning I was woken up by the postman at 7.30am. I was hugely annoyed as I’m off of uni on Monday’s and really wanted a lie in, and also because I couldn’t get back to sleep afterwards. However, I couldn’t stay mad for long as the PM was delivering this gorgeous little box – my first GlossyBox!

I was debating for ages as to whether I should bite the bullet and start a subscription to Glossybox, and then I managed to find a few 50% discount codes for the January boxes and finally went for it! Can’t go wrong when it’s half off, right?

I was SO excited when I ripped the box open and found the pretty pink box full of goodies inside! :)

[Blurry - sorry!]

This box is their Valentines Day Special, but I was slightly disappointed because there didn’t seem to be a lot of Valentines Day orientated products inside. I’m in no way bashing it though because as soon as I opened it I instantly fell in love!

Not so sure about the primer, simply because I don’t think it was designed for dark skin tones. I’ll give it a try and let you know how I get on though.

 

The Eyeko eyeliner is an absolute steal. It’s a full-size liner worth £9.50, so that alone definitely makes the box worth its price tag. The colour is ‘plum’ but it looks more brown – although it does look quite purpley in the picture.

There were two Clarins creams, a day cream and a night cream. I’m really scared about using these, just because I used to use a Clarins toner that I was completely in love with, and my bank will absolutely HATE me if I get hooked on these and have to start buying the full sized products!

The list of everything in the box says that I should have a FAB Body Wash, however I actually got the moisturiser. I was really happy about that though, as it’s perfect size for my handbag!

To top all of that goodness off they also put in a little sweetie too!

So. Is it worth it? Hmm.

It’s really difficult to say. The boxes themselves cost £10 + £2.95 P&P, but with my discount code I got it for £7.95. For that price it’s amazing and I couldn’t fault it, but I think if I’d paid £12.95 for it I might be slightly disappointed. It’s a great box, and I felt like a kid at Christmas when it arrived – after my sleepy hissy fit! – And I probably would buy another one, but I don’t think it’s something I would definitely keep up. 

Thinking of trying a FeelUnique or Carmine box next, anyone have any experiences of those?

Did anybody else buy a Glossybox subscription? Were you happy with what was inside?

Lola ..x

Mini Shopping Haul ..

Decided to do a little haul of the stuff from my shopping trip.

Picked up some Clean & Clear Blackhead Scrub from Boots because of my combination skin. Although it does get very, very oily, it’s also really dry so I love to use this to give it a good scrub and get rid of any dead skin.

I also get really dry lips and was using EOS lip balms for a while but just found that they didn’t do much for me. So I’m back to my oil faithful, Carmex. Absolutely love this stuff! Hadn’t tried the mint one before so I picked up one for my boy and I to try.

For valentines day last year, my boyfriend got me a pair of gorgeous flats from Zara and I literally wore the heck out of them until they pretty much fell apart – okay, they didn’t fall apart but they got quite dirty! So when I saw these in H&M I just HAD to buy them. They’re almost the same, just not as good in terms of quality. 

I also picked up these black shoes too. I actually haven’t had any black flats in a while, my last ones got ruined in the mud and since then I’ve stuck to anything brown. These were from Dorothy Perkins and were £23, but they’ve got an offer on at the moment for students to get 25% off so I couldn’t pass that up! I’m not a huge patent shoe fan, but these are undeniably cute. Weirdly they say Barratts inside – even the woman at the till was confused but they definitely have them in other stores and online!

Didn’t buy a lot of clothes, I hate shopping usually. I’m an ASOS girl – I love ordering stuff online because I HATE trying on clothes in the shop. ASOS Premier is like heaven to me!

Again from DP, got some cute PJ bottoms. Don’t really wear them in bed that often, so they’re mostly for slobbing around the house!

They’ve got a really cute ribbon at the waist, which is handy because I bought a size too big.

Last thing I bought was this dress from H&M. As I’ve mentioned before I don’t wear trousers so pretty much live in dresses and this was an absolute steal at £10 – could hardly contain my excitement when I got to the till and it scanned at £7! The bottom of it is slightly silky and the top is just like a t-shirt. It’s got really nice folded, capped sleeves and a cute little pocket on the front too.

Please excuse the pictures. My boyfriend and I have set up a bed on the living room floor – yes, we’re big kids! – and that was the only space I had to take the pictures.

I also got a t-shirt for the boy and a cute cardigan for my friend Zoe.

Anyone else addicted to the sale section? Picked up anything nice recently??

Still waiting for my H&M online order (humph!)

Lola ..x

Glossy Box

Today is payday and I surprising got more than I thought I would - I'm sure it was just the taxman feeling sorry for me and deciding to GIVE me money back out of pity! 

Since I had a bit of extra cash I decided to treat myself to a few things, one of them being a Glossy Box subscription. Not sure how long I can afford to keep it up on my student budget but we'll see!

For those that don't know, Glossy Box is company that delivers boxes of 5 cosmetics to you every month, ranging from testers to full sized items. I've heard nothing but good things, so I'm now a sheep. Bahh. 

Really happy that I ordered in time to get this months box, a Valentines Day special! Eeek!

Tempted to get one for my boyfriend too!

SMALL shopping trip tomorrow. So expect a mini haul.

Kisses

Lola ..x

Long Post!: Weekend - Shellac, Cinema, Weddings, Mascara, Uggs.

Feeling a little rubbish at the moment, so I’ve ditched uni – again. I thought I’d spend this free time doing something useful, so I’ll do a little run down of my weekend.

My friend Zoe came over on Friday and stayed with us for a few days. It was good to have someone else around as my boyfriend has exams so he’s been locked in the spare room glued to his Law books. As soppy as it sounds, I’m really proud of him as he’s worked really hard recently.

I mentioned before that I was on a diet and I’ve been really good over the weekend and lost 6.2lbs in the last four days. I’m sure it’s mostly water, but my scales show that body fat has reduced by 2% and my water has increased by 2.5%. I have noticed a bit of a difference in the mirror too so I’m feeling positive.

Since I’m not eating any carbohydrates I have to have oat bran everyday to keep me, ahem, regular. I’m now really addicted to having it as porridge everyday though as it’s delish! It’s my biggest treat and helps keep cravings at bay.

I’m really hoping to get to my goal, or at least be close, by the time my birthday rolls around in May as mine and my boyfriend’s birthdays are just five days apart so we were hoping to do something joint. Perhaps a party.

I'm pretty much the same size now as I was here so fingers crossed!

This is my FAVE Zara dress! <3 

I also want to make sure I’m a bit more body confident by June/July as my sister is getting married and she’s made me Maid of Honour. Since she’s also on a diet so she’s given me until April before we start buying the bridesmaid dresses but I’m starting to look around now. We have to buy the dresses ourselves so I’m hoping to spend no more than £150, but I’m not sure what the other girls’ budgets are. Anyone have any suggestions of where I could look??

My favourite!

I like these, but if anyone has suggestions then I’d be really grateful!

All Pictures From Here.

I’d been putting it off because I was feeling lazy, but on Saturday I went with mum and finally got my shellac redone, I got black this time and I love it! I’ve had different colours on my nails for the last four weeks and my nails are yet to break, so they’re the longest they’ve ever been. The shellac has made them really long and strong, making me wonder whether I should ever go back to normal varnish! It costs about £18 every few weeks but I don’t really indulge in much else so I’m considering making it a regular thing.

Sunday night Zoe and I went to the cinema and saw War Horse. I usually wouldn’t have seen a film like that but Zoe really wanted to so we decided to go and watch it. I’m so glad I gave it a chance though, as it was such a good movie! We both bawled all the way through the film as it’s so, so sad – but really, really good! I had to sit with my scarf under my eyes as my foundation turns to chocolate milk when I cry! :( But it was so, so worth it! Go and watch it!

Due to the diet I couldn’t indulge in all of my usual cinema treats – huge sweet popcorn, crisps, chocolate, or whatever. I had a high protein snack instead – a small packet of ham! It was really nice but a slightly strange cinema snack.

When we got back home we checked on my boyfriend who was still in the same place we left him – stuck in his books, bless him. Then we just sat in front of the TV, chit chatting and watching trash. We’re slightly addicted to Don’t Tell The Bride at the moment.

I’m totally in love with my Ugg Australia slippers and Starbucks mug that I got for Christmas – courtesy my lovely boyfriend and great friend Zoe. I <3 them both – the presents and the people!

 

And before I forget. Thanks to Rach-Cakes (check out her blog!) I bought Revlon 3D Extreme Mascara, which is absolutely amazing. I don’t usually wear mascara as I’ve got really short lashes and nothing seems to accentuate them, but this does. Found it on eBay, only £3.75 – absolute steal! So check it out and don’t forget to check out Rach-Cakes!

So that’s it. A nice relaxed weekend and now I’m planning to spend some time blog surfing and editing pictures of this lovely lady.

I also did a big H&M shop on the website, the sale section is amaze right now. I’ll do a big haul when everything finally arrives, as this post is mammoth already!

Did everyone have a good weekend? Anything fun planned for the coming one??

Lola ..x

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Running & Manicure.

Earlier than I’d expected, but le diet officially starts today. It was supposed to be yesterday, and was right up until about 6pm, but our Tesco shop arrives today and that has everything we need to start. So it’s au revoir carbs, bonjour protein.

I had trouble sleeping last night so downloaded a few new apps for my iPhone. Firstly, I got a new app to record my weight loss each day/week. I do have one already but it’s got the stuff from last time on it so I’d rather start afresh. I’ll do a mini review of it once I’ve been using it for a little while.

I then got an app called ‘5k Runner’, which is designed to get you off of the couch and running 5k in eight weeks – or so it says on the tin. For medical reasons I can’t start it until February but I’m really excited. Especially because I’ve decided to do Race for Life in June. Both of my mum’s parents died of cancer, and as bad as it sounds it’s my biggest fear for her as she’s a heavy smoker. So let the training commence… soon.

Source

I have a date with my mum later, we’re going to get our nails done. About a month ago we got Shellac Manicures – Shellac is a type of gel nail varnish that doesn’t chip, it’s amazing! One of my nails has chipped though, but only because I was eating roasted chestnuts and the chestnut skin got caught under the gel. Apart from that one nail they’re all fine, they’ve just grown out a lot so I need to get them redone. 

Will post a picture once they're done.

Ta-ra! ..x

Ten 'Interesting' Things About Me

Hi!

My name is Lola I’m 21 years old, a PR student and a completely new to the ‘blogging world’. Call it a New Years Resolution if you will, but I’m determined to still be here this time next year with hopefully a few more people reading.

So instead of all of the formalities of telling you EVERYTHING about my life I’ve decided to make this post a ’10 interesting things about Lola’ kind of thing. Hopefully it’ll be less boring than just listing endless, insignificant facts about myself. So, here goes.

One: I live with my boyfriend. 

Okay, so hardly something groundbreaking but it took us a long time to get here. The hurdles have made it even more worthwhile though and I’m really happy we managed to do it. 

Two: I’m adopted.

People who don’t really know my family but know that I’m adopted always ask, ‘So when did you find out you were adopted?’ My immediate reaction to this question is just to laugh. Not because I’m weird, just because my mum is white and I’m black. There was no ‘talk’; it’s something I’ve always known. I know people still see it as strange, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love my mum. <3

Three: I love to cook.

My mum, bless her heart, cannot cook. So at 11, armed with a small pile of cookbooks I learned to do it myself. I’m not a gourmet chef, I still burn things, and I still make things that even a pig wouldn’t eat. But I love, love, love to cook. I’m a let’s-make-brownies-at-3am kind of girl.

Four: I’m hell-bent on losing two and a half stone by my birthday in May.

(Not the greatest thing to write after admitting that I make sugary desserts in the early hours!) Last year February my boyfriend and myself went on a diet. We both lost a considerable amount of weight, my boyfriend reaching his goal weight in a few short months. I had a LOT of weight to lose however and got just over halfway. When we moved we literally became carbohydrate FIENDS so my boyfriend has put on a fair amount of the weight he lost and I’ve gained 11lbs. We both need to jump back on the wagon, pronto!

Five: I love photography.

I really love to take pictures, but I’ve found it all quite arduous over the last few months and have hardly picked up my camera. I have a shoot that I need to edit right now as the model seems to be hot on my heels, but after that I really want to start shooting for myself for a while.

Six: I really love to travel but I hate flying.

During my gap year I travelled to Kenya and Tanzania and spent three months volunteering in an orphanage and teaching in a school. I was extremely homesick during that time but the whole experience was amazing. I would really love to travel elsewhere, but my fear of flying holds me back a little. However, my boyfriend and I are saving for Venice this year, so fingers crossed.

Seven: I’d love to be multilingual.

I say multilingual as that’s the long-term goal, but even bilingual would be amazing. Some people have a natural aptitude for languages but unfortunately not me. I tried teaching myself Spanish once but sentence structure was a killer without a formal teacher so I gave up. 

Eight: Slight TV addict.

I go through periods of not watching TV at all and then being glued to the box, and at the moment it’s the latter. Celebrity Big Brother (don’t judge me!), Friends, Modern Family, movies, anything. Don’t even attempt conversation, as I’m disgustingly engrossed in the box.

Nine: I hate wearing trousers.

Random, yes. Irrelevant, probably. True, most definitely. The only time I ever wear trousers is at work. Or jogging bottoms if I’m bumming around at home. Other than that you probably wont ever see me in anything but a dress. It’s an addiction, a cruel, cruel, addiction.

Ten: I’m boring.

It’s taken ages to write this list and I’ve realised that I need to be a bit more exciting! I don’t want to be cliché and vow that in 2012 I’ll suddenly become a whole new exciting Lola, but I would hope that if I did this again this time next year I’d have 100 things that I would have to whittle down to 10.

Well, take it or leave it, that’s me.

Lola ..x